
DATE: Sunday, May 11, 1997                  TAG: 9705090288

SECTION: CAROLINA COAST          PAGE: 27   EDITION: FINAL 

COLUMN: BEACH PEOPLE 

SOURCE: BY PAUL SOUTH, STAFF WRITER 

DATELINE: NAGS HEAD                         LENGTH:  142 lines

KEN MANN, RADIO MAN CIVIC-MINDED CAROLINA COUNTRY BOY WAKES OUTER BANKS FOLKS FROM THEIR BEDS

It's 4:45 a.m.

Two stars still battle in an indigo sky for the attention of a crescent moon, that looks every bit like a Cheshire cat's mischievous grin, tilted on its side. Most of the world is at least an hour away from its first cup of coffee.

Ken Mann is already at work.

As he pulls into the parking lot of WNHW-FM radio studio, he snatches a white scrap of paper off the console of his truck. ``It's Hazel Wise's birthday,'' he says. That's important.

So is news about a benefit for a Wanchese man who recently underwent a triple bypass. And results from the Ocracoke surf fishing tournament. And a couple's 33rd wedding anniversary.

``It's about life,'' Mann says. ``That's what this is.''

An Outer Banks native and staunch supporter of civic causes, Mann has been a deejay for nearly half of his 41 years. For 13 of those years, including seven at WNHW, he's rousted folks from under their blankets with a mix of music and humor and news and weather. He's the early man - up well before the sun.

``I always wanted to have a regular show,,'' Mann says. ``But I don't think you ever get used to getting up at 4 in the morning.''

One of the reasons Ken Mann, part-owner and general manager of the radio station, trudges to work every morning, rain or shine, is a regular listener named Jerry.

``He calls and tries to come up with old songs that he doesn't think I have, or that he doesn't think I've heard of. And sometimes he does,'' Mann says. ``He likes to do that. There's a lot of folks who listen on a regular basis. Some of them, I know their names. Some of them, I don't know their names but I know their voices. They are the reason to get up in the morning.''

Mann hits the ground running once he gets inside the studio. He turns the coffee on. He begins to peruse the news and weather wires. He takes a quick glance at a couple of features: ``Today In History'' and ``Today in Country Music.''

``Today is the day Leonardo Da Vinci died,'' Mann says. ``We may have to play `Mona Lisa.' '' He also finds out it's Fungus Awareness Month and National Barbecue Month.

Another glance. ``It's Marty Robbins' birthday,'' Mann says, resurrecting the name of the late country superstar. ``I always wanted to meet him.''

Before his shift ends, Mann will play Robbins' 1970 hit, ``My Woman, My Woman, My Wife.''

``I grew up in a house with all kinds of music,'' Mann says. ``My mother was a tap dancer. And I grew up listening to the Mills Brothers, songs like `Glow Worm.' That was always playing around the house. And I remember when my sisters and I saw The Beatles on Ed Sullivan.''

Shortly before showtime, Mann glances at the weather forecast on a computer monitor. ``Eyes are going bad,'' he says. ``Cloudy and windy Saturday. Shucks.''

Colleague Hunt Thomas already has put most of the day's music in place. And at two minutes past 6, the red light goes on. Mann hits the airwaves.

``A pleasant good morning,'' he says to his unseen audience. ``This is the Daybreak Report.''

For the next three hours, listeners will hear about school lunch menus (pizza on Friday), the lunch special at a local restaurant (chicken salad or popcorn shrimp) and the specials at a Wanchese grocery store. They'll hear about the Atlanta Braves, the Seattle Supersonics and the North Carolina Legislature. And thousands of people will wake up to Mann's well known voice.

Gene Forman, who is part of the station's sports broadcast crew, stops by the studio during Mann's shift, bringing biscuits and coffee. He wants to know the best bait to land trout. ``Bloodworms. But you have to keep them warm,'' Mann says with a straight face. ``The best way to do that is keep 'em in your mouth.''

Forman explodes with laughter. Undoubtedly, someone at home is laughing, too. Mann seldom gets to experience the fall-out of his funny lines.

Over the hours, folks call to hear songs like ``God Only Picks Pretty Flowers,'' by Dare County native Katie Cudworth. Listeners also hear Hatteras Island native Dave Barnette. ``One of the things I like to do is play local artists,'' Mann says. ``The quality and sound has to be a certain level. But somebody has to keep the music alive. The people like it.

``The competition (between radio stations) has caused some people to be scared to do certain things because they are afraid they might lose listeners. But we still try to play local talent.''

At 8:21 a.m., a listener named Iris calls. She doesn't want to hear local folks. She wants to talk about country hearthrob Vince Gill and his single, ``I Still Believe In You,``.

``You'd like to meet Vince, would you?'' Mann says with a big grin. The two talk for a bit. Then Mann moves on to a report from the Ocracoke Surf Fishing Tournament, complete with a tip from ``Mullet Mama'' who says it could be a good day for tailor blues.

The minutes fly by. And soon the show closes with a phone visit from part-time Outer Banks resident Billy Edd Wheeler, who wrote a number of hits, including ``Coward of the County,'' and the Kingston Trio Classic, ``The Reverend Mr. Black.''

As the clock ticks toward 9 a.m., Mann gives his signature close: ``May God bless you richly.'' Within minutes, Hunt Thomas will be in the chair - and many other people will be arriving at work.

Mann's shift is over. But his day is just beginning. There are commercials to cut, sales calls to make and a rehearsal for the Wanchese benefit that his own band, Captain's Crew, is playing at. Mann sings and plays the guitar in the 8-piece gospel, folk and country ensemble. He will not head home for another 12 hours.

He walks back to his office at the radio station and sits down at his desk. He begins to munch on a ham and cheese biscuit.

``I know they're listening,'' he says. ``There's not a day that goes by that someone doesn't come up to me and say something about something I said, or something I did. I try to be me. I don't talk at the people. I try to talk to the people. I try to have a conversation with them on the radio.

``I don't know why they listen, really. Maybe they like the local part, the `hoigh toide' part of it. I don't know if it's stuff I tell them about my family. A lot of folks have sort of been with our family all along. We're everyday folks.''

A devout Christian who often sings in churches, Mann is particular about what he puts on the air.

``You won't hear anything like a Howard Stern,'' he says. ``There's just no way. I'm disappointed with radio and television as a whole. I think it's gotten way out of hand. I think that whether you're a Christian or not, the values are not there.''

Howard Stern may not make the airwaves on Mann's morning show. But other famous folks - author Alex Haley, baseball great Ted Williams and former presidential hopeful Patrick Buchanan - have shared the microphone with this Outer Banks deejay. And Mann is well aware of the power of his medium.

``I am convinced that I could go on the radio and sway the opinion of this community if I wanted to. But I think it would be very unfair,'' he says. ``Some try to do that across the country, and that concerns me.''

Mann leaves opinion shaping to others. Instead, he talks hometown benefits and bluefin tuna, anniversaries and bake sales, go-kart races and chicken festivals.

The next day will bring a new morning and a new on-air shift. It'll be somebody else's birthday. And folks will still be listening. ILLUSTRATION: Staff photo by DREW C. WILSON

Ken Mann, of WNHW-FM has led the radio market on the Outer Banks for

years. The news briefs he gives on his show are: ``It's about

life,'' Mann says. ``That's what this is.''

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HOW TO HEAR HIM

Who: Disc Jockey Ken Mann

When: 6 a.m. to 9 a.m. Mondays through Fridays

Where: Radio station

WNHW FM, Carolina 92

Call: 441-9292, 480-1130